Scientists discover 66 million year old amphibian species in Spain

Scientists from Portuguese and Spanish institutions identified a new species of amphibian from tiny fossils found in Spain.

The research team used more than 80 bones discovered in the 1990s to describe the animal, which resembles a salamander. The fossils were collected in Areny, Huesca, in the Aragão community of Spain. The researchers identified the creature as a member of the albanerpetontids, a mysterious group of extinct lissamphibians.

These amphibians lived during the Mesozoic era and were less than five centimeters long. They possessed dry, scaly skin, claws made of keratin-like material, eyelids, and a tongue that projected quickly to catch food like a chameleon. The study, published in the journal Cretaceous Research, shows that albanerpetontids shifted from slender forms to more robust shapes at the end of the Cretaceous period. This change occurred shortly before the mass extinction caused by an asteroid impact.

The team suggests that Western European species may have been influenced by populations from North America, while Eastern European species might have been influenced by Asian populations or older European groups. The researchers named the new species Synorerpeton ribagorzana. The name refers to its location near the geological boundary of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction and the geographical border between Aragão and Catalonia.

The discovery provides more information on ancient amphibian migrations and helps clarify the final chapters of the era of the dinosaurs.